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Tweeter help

I am running 6 wetsound 650's and two jl audio 10 subs for my interior speakers. I need more highs especially when under way. I have been thinking abount adding some tweets probablt 2 pair. I have two channels on an alpine amp that are free. Here are my questions, What tweets do you like and do tweeters have to be marine. I like MB Quarts because they are so bright. The two in the front will get wet. With the two seperate free channels I should be able to set gains so they all blend. Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks gene

No, they do not need to be marine, but construction would add to their lifespan if they will be located where they will receive direct sunlight and water.

Im curious where your current 6 in-boats are located and the amp driving them. Have you done any testing to confirm all the tweeters are working? The 650 has a strong 1" tweeter and this is not a common complaint we hear from a setup with 6 in-boats.

Just checked the tweeters and they all work. Location is the problem. They are all in stock locations. A pair in the helm and the four in the side compartments. Again they don't sound bad while sitting but a pair of tweets in a better locatiuon would be better under way

Originally Posted by MLA

No, they do not need to be marine, but construction would add to their lifespan if they will be located where they will receive direct sunlight and water.

Im curious where your current 6 in-boats are located and the amp driving them. Have you done any testing to confirm all the tweeters are working? The 650 has a strong 1" tweeter and this is not a common complaint we hear from a setup with 6 in-boats.

The Wetsounds coaxials have an aggressive top end (voiced specifically for in-boat use) so I was also surprised to hear this. However, the location can make a difference.
Going forward with supplemental tweeters keep a couple of issues in mind.
Detached (separated by distance) tweeters can sound extremely abrasive and destroy any resemblance to an image. So try and keep supplemental tweeters vertically aligned with a dominant set of coaxails. On the other hand, if you are trying to correct a scenario where all four cockpit coaxials are behind you (the driver) with nothing in front of you (bow speakers don't count) then horizontally detached tweeters are the only solution. But this introduces new problems that you have yet to experience.
Don't waste added tweeters, which are highly directional as the high frequency increases, in a location where you, as the driver, cannot benefit. One carefully placed set should do the trick.
One tweeter isn't necessarily brighter than another as a standalone driver. It's the hotter relationship between the tweeter and midbass driver that creates that perception.
If you get too aggressive with tweeters you will kill the integrity of all vocals. So I would attenuate the tweeter enough to maintain some musicality and I would raise the crossover point on the supplemental tweeter so that it accentuates vocals less and percussion/upper harmonics more. A higher crossover selection may in fact be all the attenuation that you need in order to keep balanced vocals while restoring the distinctive qualities and detailed highs.
If you have a pair of dedicated tweeter channels then you might consider adding a Pac LC-1 as a convenient adjustment tool.

The Wetsounds coaxials have an aggressive top end (voiced specifically for in-boat use) so I was also surprised to hear this. However, the location can make a difference.
Going forward with supplemental tweeters keep a couple of issues in mind.
Detached (separated by distance) tweeters can sound extremely abrasive and destroy any resemblance to an image. So try and keep supplemental tweeters vertically aligned with a dominant set of coaxails. On the other hand, if you are trying to correct a scenario where all four cockpit coaxials are behind you (the driver) with nothing in front of you (bow speakers don't count) then horizontally detached tweeters are the only solution. But this introduces new problems that you have yet to experience.
Don't waste added tweeters, which are highly directional as the high frequency increases, in a location where you, as the driver, cannot benefit. One carefully placed set should do the trick.
One tweeter isn't necessarily brighter than another as a standalone driver. It's the hotter relationship between the tweeter and midbass driver that creates that perception.
If you get too aggressive with tweeters you will kill the integrity of all vocals. So I would attenuate the tweeter enough to maintain some musicality and I would raise the crossover point on the supplemental tweeter so that it accentuates vocals less and percussion/upper harmonics more. A higher crossover selection may in fact be all the attenuation that you need in order to keep balanced vocals while restoring the distinctive qualities and detailed highs.
If you have a pair of dedicated tweeter channels then you might consider adding a Pac LC-1 as a convenient adjustment tool.

David

So I was just reading some posts in another audio thread and I was thinking damm some of these guys are smart. David I love reading your posts. They are always helpful. So I reread this thread and was thinking about what you said about wetsounds being aggressive on the top end so I did some more checking. I wanted to share how dumb I am. Someone got in the head unit and treble was at -6. Set back to 0 and it doesn't sound like crap anymore. Must have been riding that way for months. Da

You raise a good point. Lots of us kind of "tune" (for lack of a better word, maybe "set" would be better in my case as lots of you would laugh at my attempts to "tune" anything-- I can't tuna fork) at the time of an install or addition to the system. Then we just leave it. Maybe we should all consider a "retune" each spring as we prepare for the year and a checkup tune periodically as well.

So I was just reading some posts in another audio thread and I was thinking damm some of these guys are smart. David I love reading your posts. They are always helpful. So I reread this thread and was thinking about what you said about wetsounds being aggressive on the top end so I did some more checking. I wanted to share how dumb I am. Someone got in the head unit and treble was at -6. Set back to 0 and it doesn't sound like crap anymore. Must have been riding that way for months. Da

Thanks, but I was just trying to get my post count up.
I'm glad we saved you the cost and hassle of the extra tweeters.
It's funny, or not so funny, how often people form a fixed and unbreakable opinion based on a one time exposure to a poorly designed, poorly tuned/set, or poorly executed product or system.
In a similar way to your experience, the smallest details can acummulate to have either a significant positive or negative impact on the system quality. Box/woofer design, box tuning frequency, crossover selection, gain structure, system efficiency, and countless other layers can have more to do with the final performance than the particular product.